Dyke claims backing from top clubs

Football Association chairman Greg Dyke claimed he has had backing from top clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City for his plan to introduce B teams.

Dyke has set a target of increasing the number of English players in the Premier League from 32 per cent to 45 per cent by 2022 in his England Commission report, and believes B teams are one way to achieve this.

He unveiled a raft of proposals at Wembley, aimed at boosting the number of English players at the top of club football, including the introduction of B teams in a new 'League Three', special loan relationships between clubs, overhauling the work permit system and increasing the number of home-grown players in squads.

Dyke told a news conference at Wembley that a number of top clubs had all expressed interest in the plan for B teams in a new league.

He said: "There is a lot of interest and enthusiasm from the big clubs for this.

"Liverpool, the Manchester clubs, Stoke, Tottenham - they have no problems with me mentioning them on this - so quite a lot of clubs recognise the problem they have got.

"The evidence from clubs combined with our own investigations is the lack of playing opportunities for young English players aged between 18 and 21.

"Many of the clubs we spoke to called this the 'Bermuda Triangle' or 'black hole' of English football.

"The gap between the academy and the first team has widened significantly in 20 years.

"A B team is distinct from a feeder club, it is part of that club and as a result of having B teams, 18 to 21-year-old Spanish players play two and half times more competitive football than their English counterparts."

The target, which includes increasing the number of English players playing regularly in the Premier League from 66 currently to 90 by the year 2022, was described as "ambitious but realistic" by Dyke.

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The report states: "There should be 90 English players playing over 50 per cent of minutes in the Premier League (or any other top five European league) compared with 66 today - of these 30 should be playing in the top six teams in the Premier League compared with the 18 today."

The most controversial proposal would be establishing a new League Three in 2016/17 made up of 10 Premier League B teams and 10 from the Conference. Of the B team squad, 19 of the 25 should be under the age of 21 and 20 of the 25 should qualify for the home-grown rule and no non-EU players allowed.

Many clubs at the top and bottom of the professional game have already expressed deep reservations about that plan.

Dyke hopes to win support from Football League clubs by suggesting the Premier League should make a "significant financial settlement" to clubs in the lower divisions to make sure they do not lose out financially from the re-organisation.

He said: "One valid criticism of English football is so little of the enormous amount of money at the top is being shared at clubs at lower levels. This would allow more to be shared."

In terms of home-grown players allowed in each Premier League squad, the Commission recommends a phased reduction in the number of non home-grown players in top-flight squads from 17 to 12 - starting in 2016/17 and reaching that target by 2021.

On work permits, the Commission proposed a cap on two non-EU players per squad, and that no players on overseas visas should be allowed to play below the Premier League, nor loaned to any other club in England.

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Dyke also announced a proposal for the development of "strategic loan partnerships" between a club in the Premier League or Championship and up to two other clubs in the lower leagues. They could loan the smaller clubs up to eight players at any time of the season - all have to be under 22 and home-grown.

The Commission will deliver findings on developments on its proposals in the autumn.

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Comments (2)

Dyke has made his move to become the Sepp Blatter of English football. If the Premier clubs are having trouble finding a spot in the first team for British youth players then they should stop loading them with foreign imports and give the players coming through a run. The idea of slotting in premier reserve teams between the Football League 2nd & the Conference Premier is ridiculously complicated and unworkable; its not as if the league clubs have not been running reserve teams, youth teams & the like for most of their history. Except now of course they are filled with foreign born players and many of the failures from these teams are playing in the Conference and lower! Sack- er promote Greg Dyke to FIFA & sick him on a new European league for Sky, may as well ruin the other leagues around Europe and not just ours.

Dyke has made his move to become the Sepp Blatter of English football.
If the Premier clubs are having trouble finding a spot in the first team for British youth players then they should stop loading them with foreign imports and give the players coming through a run. The idea of slotting in premier reserve teams between the Football League 2nd & the Conference Premier is ridiculously complicated and unworkable; its not as if the league clubs have not been running reserve teams, youth teams & the like for most of their history. Except now of course they are filled with foreign born players and many of the failures from these teams are playing in the Conference and lower! Sack- er promote Greg Dyke to FIFA & sick him on a new European league for Sky, may as well ruin the other leagues around Europe and not just ours.gramps427

Dyke has made his move to become the Sepp Blatter of English football. If the Premier clubs are having trouble finding a spot in the first team for British youth players then they should stop loading them with foreign imports and give the players coming through a run. The idea of slotting in premier reserve teams between the Football League 2nd & the Conference Premier is ridiculously complicated and unworkable; its not as if the league clubs have not been running reserve teams, youth teams & the like for most of their history. Except now of course they are filled with foreign born players and many of the failures from these teams are playing in the Conference and lower! Sack- er promote Greg Dyke to FIFA & sick him on a new European league for Sky, may as well ruin the other leagues around Europe and not just ours.

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Keith B says...8:49pm Thu 8 May 14

Of course Dyke has got backing from the top Clubs. They will get all the benefit as usual. I am really concerned with what he is proposing for reserve teams of the bigger clubs. It will destroy the pyramid and what makes English football pyramid the strongest League structure in the world with professional teams right down to teams ranked at 2,000 or so, still being able to dream of climbing the ladder. Places like Bromyard Town can still draw 50-60 people on a good day to watch them in the lower reaches of the West Midlands League, or a village Club like Wellington (Herefordshire) in the Midland Alliance who produced a player like Andy Williams who has gone on to have a 10 year minor professional career at Bristol Rovers, Yeovil and Swindon. It's these clubs the FA needs to be looking after - not Manchester City or Chelsea who are buying world players instead of developing the local youth. And what will they do with their reserve teams - fill them with even more young foreign players without giving the home grown talent a look in. How is that going to help the England team. You can't stop them doing it under EU law, however many regulations you try to impose. It's even more stupid than fining clubs for breaching the financial fair play regulations! You do not fine someone who has a bottomless pit of money - there is simply no point. In the same way that you do not give a team with a bottomless pit of money an opportunity to bring in yet more players from abroad in a gormless attempt to bring through English players for the national team. This suggestion is typical of a bunch of highly paid, high level coaches getting together without one thought for the paying customers (often known as supporters - the cattle fodder that constantly get kicked in the teeth and for whom the arrogant rich men of the Premier League have no consideration - mainly because they are not indigenous to this Country and have no care for its people, it's culture or indeed for the national team). The fact is that lower and non-league football has a huge following and quite frankly they do not want to find their clubs playing the foreign players of Bolton Reserves on a Saturday - neither do they want yet another step put in their way to attain promotion to the League. Kidderminster Harriers had a great experience of being a League Club for a few years, before dropping back to the Conference - still enjoying that level but still having the dream of getting back up into League 2 and beyond. The same applies to Hereford United. Dykes idea is rubbish other than for a handful of major clubs that he appears to represent and care about ... but as the Football Associations job is to represent the players at all levels, those who work both paid and unpaid behind the scenes and those people who support the game at ALL levels of the game - the customers, whether they are paying to watch at Blyth or Bognor or just bringing their kids to play at Stowupland Falcons FC (membership around 500 under 18's in rural Suffolk). Dyke should drop this plan before we destroy the structure of football. The system isn't broken - don't try to fix it.

Of course Dyke has got backing from the top Clubs. They will get all the benefit as usual.
I am really concerned with what he is proposing for reserve teams of the bigger clubs. It will destroy the pyramid and what makes English football pyramid the strongest League structure in the world with professional teams right down to teams ranked at 2,000 or so, still being able to dream of climbing the ladder. Places like Bromyard Town can still draw 50-60 people on a good day to watch them in the lower reaches of the West Midlands League, or a village Club like Wellington (Herefordshire) in the Midland Alliance who produced a player like Andy Williams who has gone on to have a 10 year minor professional career at Bristol Rovers, Yeovil and Swindon.
It's these clubs the FA needs to be looking after - not Manchester City or Chelsea who are buying world players instead of developing the local youth. And what will they do with their reserve teams - fill them with even more young foreign players without giving the home grown talent a look in. How is that going to help the England team. You can't stop them doing it under EU law, however many regulations you try to impose.
It's even more stupid than fining clubs for breaching the financial fair play regulations! You do not fine someone who has a bottomless pit of money - there is simply no point. In the same way that you do not give a team with a bottomless pit of money an opportunity to bring in yet more players from abroad in a gormless attempt to bring through English players for the national team.
This suggestion is typical of a bunch of highly paid, high level coaches getting together without one thought for the paying customers (often known as supporters - the cattle fodder that constantly get kicked in the teeth and for whom the arrogant rich men of the Premier League have no consideration - mainly because they are not indigenous to this Country and have no care for its people, it's culture or indeed for the national team).
The fact is that lower and non-league football has a huge following and quite frankly they do not want to find their clubs playing the foreign players of Bolton Reserves on a Saturday - neither do they want yet another step put in their way to attain promotion to the League. Kidderminster Harriers had a great experience of being a League Club for a few years, before dropping back to the Conference - still enjoying that level but still having the dream of getting back up into League 2 and beyond. The same applies to Hereford United.
Dykes idea is rubbish other than for a handful of major clubs that he appears to represent and care about ... but as the Football Associations job is to represent the players at all levels, those who work both paid and unpaid behind the scenes and those people who support the game at ALL levels of the game - the customers, whether they are paying to watch at Blyth or Bognor or just bringing their kids to play at Stowupland Falcons FC (membership around 500 under 18's in rural Suffolk).
Dyke should drop this plan before we destroy the structure of football. The system isn't broken - don't try to fix it.Keith B

Of course Dyke has got backing from the top Clubs. They will get all the benefit as usual. I am really concerned with what he is proposing for reserve teams of the bigger clubs. It will destroy the pyramid and what makes English football pyramid the strongest League structure in the world with professional teams right down to teams ranked at 2,000 or so, still being able to dream of climbing the ladder. Places like Bromyard Town can still draw 50-60 people on a good day to watch them in the lower reaches of the West Midlands League, or a village Club like Wellington (Herefordshire) in the Midland Alliance who produced a player like Andy Williams who has gone on to have a 10 year minor professional career at Bristol Rovers, Yeovil and Swindon. It's these clubs the FA needs to be looking after - not Manchester City or Chelsea who are buying world players instead of developing the local youth. And what will they do with their reserve teams - fill them with even more young foreign players without giving the home grown talent a look in. How is that going to help the England team. You can't stop them doing it under EU law, however many regulations you try to impose. It's even more stupid than fining clubs for breaching the financial fair play regulations! You do not fine someone who has a bottomless pit of money - there is simply no point. In the same way that you do not give a team with a bottomless pit of money an opportunity to bring in yet more players from abroad in a gormless attempt to bring through English players for the national team. This suggestion is typical of a bunch of highly paid, high level coaches getting together without one thought for the paying customers (often known as supporters - the cattle fodder that constantly get kicked in the teeth and for whom the arrogant rich men of the Premier League have no consideration - mainly because they are not indigenous to this Country and have no care for its people, it's culture or indeed for the national team). The fact is that lower and non-league football has a huge following and quite frankly they do not want to find their clubs playing the foreign players of Bolton Reserves on a Saturday - neither do they want yet another step put in their way to attain promotion to the League. Kidderminster Harriers had a great experience of being a League Club for a few years, before dropping back to the Conference - still enjoying that level but still having the dream of getting back up into League 2 and beyond. The same applies to Hereford United. Dykes idea is rubbish other than for a handful of major clubs that he appears to represent and care about ... but as the Football Associations job is to represent the players at all levels, those who work both paid and unpaid behind the scenes and those people who support the game at ALL levels of the game - the customers, whether they are paying to watch at Blyth or Bognor or just bringing their kids to play at Stowupland Falcons FC (membership around 500 under 18's in rural Suffolk). Dyke should drop this plan before we destroy the structure of football. The system isn't broken - don't try to fix it.

Score: 0

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